Atin Ito | Ontario’s First Filipino Community Newspaper – Trusted News and Stories for the Filipino-Canadian Community Atin Ito is Ontario’s first Filipino community newspaper, delivering trusted news, stories, and updates for Filipino-Canadians. Stay connected with your community.
Candidates are Dylan Marando, Eric Lombardi, Navdeep Bains, Lee Fairclough, Stephanie Bowman
Ontario Liberal leadership candidates took to the stage for the first debate in their race to lead the third-place party, with the early focus on whether it is important to have a seat.
In November, Liberal members will select the party’s fourth leader since 2018, when the Liberals were last in government.
The previous two leaders, Steven Del Duca and Bonnie Crombie, did not have a seat in the legislature and the five leadership candidates in this race debated whether that matters.
Two caucus members, Lee Fairclough and Stephanie Bowman, made the case that the next leader needs the visibility that comes with being an elected legislator.
The other three candidates, former federal cabinet minister Navdeep Bains, housing advocate Eric Lombardi and former political staffer Dylan Marando, said that is not what will matter to voters.
Candidates were asked to comment on the ideology of the party and where it should stand on the political spectrum, what they would do about the economy, health care and education, and the biggest misconceptions about their candidacy.
Goal ‘to provide an alternative to Ontarians’
Online voting for a new leader will run from Nov. 9 to 20 and the next leader is set to be announced Nov. 21.
The debate, which was held in a Brampton studio, was livestreamed. Tina Yazdani, a Queen’s Park reporter for The Trillium, moderated the debate.
Earlier, Interim Ontario Liberal Party leader John Fraser said Monday in an interview with CBC Toronto that the party was hoping the debate would reach not only party members but also a wider Ontario audience.
“We think this is a great way to introduce our candidates to our voters and our members,” Fraser said.
“What we’re working really hard to do is, and what our job is, is to provide an alternative to Ontarians, so that they’ll be able to have confidence in a new government that they can elect.”
Fraser said he had some advice for the candidates: “Just be yourself.”
“The most important thing I think is to be authentic,” he said. “But it’s hard sometimes because there’s a lot of pressure and you want to perform well. You don’t want to make any mistakes.”
The party has been without a leader since Bonnie Crombie resigned in January.
The leadership candidates are:
- Navdeep Bains, a former science and industry minister in Justin Trudeau’s government who left politics in 2021. He most recently served as an executive at Rogers.
- Stephanie Bowman, the MPP for Don Valley West since 2022, an accountant and former bank executive.
- Lee Fairclough, a first-time MPP representing Etobicoke-Lakeshore, former president of St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener and a former player on Canada’s National Women’s Rugby Team.
- Eric Lombardi, founder of the advocacy group More Neighbours Toronto, with a professional background in finance and technology.
- Dylan Marando, a policy advisor to Liberal premiers Kathleen Wynne and Dalton McGuinty, as well as prime minister Justin Trudeau.With files from Lorenda Reddekopp and Lane Harrison
— Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
With files from Lorenda Reddekopp and Lane Harrison
*****
Credit belongs to: www.cbc.ca
